Fractal Shadows
by Rosanthium
Summary: When Harry defeated Voldemort, he finally had enough. Given a choice to start a new life in a new world will he take the opportunity? Elf!Harry/Mate!Legolas. RE UPDATING FIRST 2 CHAPTERS! NEW PLOTLINE! Please read A/N


***PLEASE READ***

**I have recently changed this story, as I thought of a new plotline and everything kind of fell into place. If you read the original plotline to Fractal Shadows I have deleted them and replace them with my new, better improved story. **

**For people who have read the (bad) version. Here are the changes.  
>1. Harry DOESN'T commits suicide.<br>2. Harry will become a 17-18 year old ELF NOT ELFLING!  
>3. Slash pairing of HarryLegolas, though nothing explicit.  
>4. Mpreg is most likely going to be a part of this story so if you are a total homophobe and going to write FLAMES than piss off.<br>5. Minor swearing, blah blah blah. **

**Hope this helps. Enjoy.  
>Disclaimer: I do not on Harry Potter or LotR they belong to the amazing JK and Tolkien. If I did then shit would go CRAZY!<strong>

Prologue: Nova Vita

He stood in the courtyard of Hogwarts, looking at the bodies of friends, family and allies surrounding him. He couldn't help but feel empty looking at the aftermath of the battle that took place there. He didn't shed one tear, nor utter one word. He stood silently as he surveyed the damage.

Turning his back he walked away onto the remnants of the bridge that gave passage to Hogwarts. Though he just defeated the most evil Wizard in the world he couldn't help but wonder if it was all worth it. The amount of people that sacrificed their lives for the War shattered his heart. He lost his parents, his godfather, his mentor and his friend. Fred, Luna, Neville, Ron, Hermione, Remus and Tonks, all gone.

He sat down on the edge of the bridge, legs dangling over the side. In his right hand lay the Elder wand, The raw power emanating from it scared him. He was just about to snap it and throw it over the bridge when he heard a shuffle behind him, and turned his head to the sound.

Standing there was none other than Draco Malfoy. He looked awkward, slightly shifting from one leg to the other as if he wanted to say something but couldn't muster up the courage to speak. His resolve was to just silently take a seat next to Harry.

"What are you thinking?" Draco finally uttered after ten minutes of unbearable silence. For his enemy, Draco spoke very softly, as if one wrong word would break the invisible wall holding Harry together. It was funny, how after all these years bickering and tormenting each other they would find an unlikely friendship, that his school enemy would offer his hand of truce so they could at least die without some stupid feud going on between them. Draco had been there when Hermione and Ron died in the courtyard, when Harry froze and didn't move as spells were cast over his head.

_**~FLASHBACK~**_

"_Harry, look out!" screamed Hermione as a bright green spell shot towards him. He quickly jumped out of the way and continued fighting the Death Eater in front of him. Beside him both Hermione and Ron were back-to-back in a fighting stance, as they threw spells to whoever crossed an invisible boundary. _

_They were both sweating profusely as they fought rigorously to protect each other from certain death. They were so caught up within the battle that they never saw Bellatrix chanting the Killing Curse. _

_It was if time stood still and everything just went in slow motion. _

_The surprise as both Ron and Hermione looked at the rapidly approaching spell. Ron reaching out his hand and grabbing hold of Hermione's just as the spell hit. Both of them crumpling to the ground, bodies lying motionless in the middle of Hogwarts' courtyard. _

_The Death Eater Harry was fighting gained the upper hand and started sending all sorts of Dark curses his way, but he didn't defend himself, he just stood there looking at his two best friends' bodies, their lips blue as the cold hand of Death stretched to claim what was his. _

_Spells flew through the air, narrowly missing Harry but exploding on the bricks of Hogwarts.  
>"Potter! What are you doing?!" A voice broke through Harry's conscience and he turned towards the voice. <em>

_Draco Malfoy was dodging spells as he tried to get to Harry. He grabbed Harry's arm and made him duck just as a dark purple spell flew across their heads. It was then that Harry realised who was gripping his arm. "Get off me, Malfoy!" Harry ripped his arm from Draco's vice-like grip and glared at the blonde Slytherin._

"_Oh come off it, Potter! Do you have a death wish?!" Another orange spell exploded next to them, bits of dust and brick spraying over them both. "Get out of here you stupid Gryffindor!" Draco screamed at him over the loud booming of the battle. _

_Harry still didn't move, it was as if his feet were glued to the ground. The shock over witnessing his best friend's death had frozen his movement in his body. Draco followed his gaze towards the two lifeless bodies. He looked at Harry with sympathy, and then a stinging sensation was tingling on his cheek. Draco just slapped him. "What the hell, Malfoy?!" Harry said in surprise his arm raised towards his swollen cheek. _

_Draco gave him a stern look. "Get you head in the game, you prat. They wouldn't want you to go and get yourself killed. They would've wanted you to fight on."  
>"What do you know?" Harry snapped in anger. How dare Malfoy tell him what <em>**his ****friends** _would've wanted? _

"_Nothing. I know absolutely nothing. But you need to end this war. Look around you," Harry surveyed the carnage, and the growing piles of dead bodies, both from the Light and the Dark. He saw Remus and Tonks battling side by side, as well as Neville and Ginny, both parties casting off spells left right and centre. Everywhere around him was death. The air was filled with screams, and the ground was stained with blood._

"_This has to end!" Draco screamed at him, shooting a stunning spell at an approaching Death Eater, who fired a curse towards Harry. Draco pulled Harry down as it flew across their heads, and dragged him behind a wall, pulling them out of the curse fire. They were both breathing heavily, and it was then that Harry noticed that Draco looked like a scene from a muggle horror film._

_His normally gelled hair was mattered with both dirt and blood and he had a large gash on the side of his face- the blood from it trickling onto his not-so-perfect suit as it was torn in various places. It was such a different image from the picture perfect, well groomed Slytherin. "Why are you helping me?" Harry asked, blood still pumping from the rush of the battle. _

"_Because I want this war ended just as much as you. My parents are being forced to work for a madman and I now have to carry this," Draco pulled up his sleeve to reveal his Dark Mark, "As a reminder that if I fuck up, I won't even have any parents anymore." He looked at the dark Mark in disgust, as if it had tainted him and left a permanent scar to remind him of his weaknesses, which is exactly what it was. Draco then pulled out his hand in a silent truce between them. _

"_I know I haven't been the nicest person to you, Potter, but I think at this time, when the world's turned to shit, that at least one good thing will come out of it." Harry looked at the out-stretched hand, contemplating whether if this was just a trick or if the Slytherin meant well. Hesitantly he grabbed and shaked Draco's hand, earnestly accepting his offer at friendship, after all he had no one left anymore. _

_When Harry tried to let go of Draco's hand, Draco held onto it firmly as his head reached up towards Harry's ear. His voice was soft, breathy and it tickled against his skin.  
>"Defeat him, Harry," at this Harry's eyes widened in shock at the use of his first name, "Save us." Draco then ran back onto the battlefield and let destiny decide his fate. <em>

_**~FLASHBACK ENDS~**_

"Was it all worth it?" Harry said in response to Draco's question. He honestly didn't see the point in saving the world from the Dark Lord, when there was no one left to be saved. They were either dead or hiding in fear.

It was funny because in the end after dying and then not-dying it wasn't really him who defeated Voldemort. It was everyone. It was Neville who died cutting Nagini's head off, the poison of the bite quickly spreading through Neville's body. It was Luna, with her weird and cooky outlook on life, and her knowledge of the weird and wonderful that lead them to Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, but yet couldn't save her from going insane as Bellatrix slowly tortured her to death. It took Hermione's brains to figure out the Deathly Hallows, and Ron's brash Gryffindor bravery, to destroy not one but _**two**_ horcruxes. It took one Draco Malfoy, to give him the extra encouragement he needed to finish the task he set out to do. It took everyone to help in the defeat of Voldemort, not just him. He just delivered the final blow.

"I mean, after everyone died, what was the point defeating him, if there is no one left to defeat him from?" Draco chuckled slightly at how incredulous Harry sounded. "You don't get it, do you Potter?" He looked at his feet which were currently dangling over the edge of the bridge.

"If He wasn't stopped, the world would be in chaos and not just the Wizarding World either. He had to be stopped, and just because people died trying to stop Him, doesn't mean that didn't know that there was a chance that they would die trying. It was their choice. They knew the risks. So don't get all sentimental, because that would bring shame to everyone who sacrificed their lives for this war. Granger, Weasley, Loony and even Longbottom, knew that there was a chance they wouldn't make it, so don't even think about saying that it wasn't worth it, because it was."

Harry was a bit surprised at Draco's little speech but he couldn't help but ask, "Then why does it hurt so much?" Draco hadn't had an answer.

After a while Draco gave an exasperated sigh, "Look everyone cared about you, even Snape," At that Harry snorted, "There is nothing that those people wouldn't have done for you, so the best thing you can do is accept that they are not coming back, no matter how hard you try." It was harsh, but it was the truth.

They sat in silence again, the cool breeze blowing their hair, and the smoke from Hogwarts being cascaded onto the wind. "Not many people knew that he was my Godfather," Draco said in a solemn voice, as he ripped off his already ripped sleeve. "That who was?" Harry asked. He didn't even know that Draco even had a Godfather.

"Snape," Replied Draco. "Snape is your Godfather?" Harry asked in surprise. Snape. Wow, that was a surprise but it did explain why they were all chummy with each other."Yeah. Back in school, my dad and he were best mates, they still are."

Draco stood up, wiping off the dust off of his robe. "Well I better go, my father needs to go into hiding and the sooner I'm there the sooner they can leave. Mum's going with him you see, she doesn't want to leave him. I can't go with them though because someone's got to be head of the Malfoy Family." He turned around to leave, but he stopped when he heard a quiet whisper. "Thank you, Draco." Draco gave a small smile and then continued walking away from Hogwarts, until it was just a memory left on the Horizon.

Harry watched Draco leave and never look back, and he was jealous that Draco could do that whereas he couldn't. What could he do now? What is the point of living when there is no one to live it with? .Draco's words suddenly echoed through his mind. _"They are not coming back, no matter how hard you try." _

But he could.

Harry jumped up and ran towards the Dark Forest. The trees flew past him as he ran and ran, until he came to a familiar clearing, the last place he saw his parents. His gaze shifted to the surrounding trees as he felt a hum of magic, and he could feel the tendrils of magic curling around his soul, slowly coaxing him towards its source. His magical core caught onto it as well and his body was moving on its own towards that which beckoned to be found. He weaved through trees, until he was at the place where Voldemort struck him down. On the ground there was a black scorch mark where the Killing Curse hit him, and right in the middle was the Resurrection Stone.

Everything suddenly made sense. He remembered talking to his parents and Sirius and then they told him they loved him and then vanished. After that he threw the stone into the Dark Forest, letting it go towards destiny's path. He never knew how he survived the Killing Curse, but this just put the mystery into context. The Killing Curse hit him, and then he fell. Right onto the Resurrection Stone. So he was meant to survive this, and not just die for nothing. As he bent down and picked up the small object he could see, more or less feel, the power radiating off it in waves.

It rolled to the crevice of his palm, and then Harry rolled it three times. Suddenly he was surrounded by everyone he loved, who died protecting him. What broke his heart was that there was so many of them. He couldn't take it. Harry fell to his knees in anger of the people he lost. Ear shattering yells tore from Harry's throat as he expressed what was bottled up inside him. He did this for a good five minutes until he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. He turned his face and saw his mother looking at him in sorrow. Behind her was his father and beside him was Sirius. "Harry, my son, please don't cry." That just made him cry more. The one thing a child needs in their lives is their mother and father, and both of them were viciously taken away from him. "You need to be strong, Harry, everything will be alright soon, just wait. Your pain will end." Lily's soft voice broke through Harry's thoughts.

"How mum?" Harry asked. He couldn't hope that everything will be better. If he did, things will just become worse, it always did. "How can it end, when I have no one left that I love? You all filled my heart, and now you're gone, there is nothing left. I can't love anymore. I won't love."

And for the second time that day he was slapped. He looked up ready to see his mother but was then met with the furious gaze of one Hermione Granger. "Harry James Potter!" she screeched, "You are being an arrogant prat. How dare you think that you won't love anymore, when we all have given so much to you? We may be dead, Harry, but we still live on," she touched him gently on his heart, "…we live on through you."

Ron then came to her side and wrapped a hand around her waist. "Yeah mate, just because we aren't there doesn't mean we are not watching over you. We always are, we always will. Just live your life, Harry, for us."

Harry stood up from the forest floor, wiping away the leaves that attached themselves to his jeans. "How can I live, when there is nothing to live for? There is nothing for me here,"

Lily took his face in her hands, they were cold as ice, but the feeling made it seem a bit more real. "Then we will send you to a place, a land where you will find love, friendship and family. A place where you will be the man that you were meant to be." Harry looked at her in confusion. James came over to him and explained some more. "The universe is made up of many things, Harry. There are multiple worlds out there that are different from here. We, as ghosts, exist between the cracks that separate them. We can send you to one of these places, if you do not wish to stay here. This is our gift to you, Harry James Potter, the gift of new life."

It was funny because the moment his father spoke, he heard a million other voices echoing him. "Do you accept?" the voices asked. Did he? Was there a possible chance that he would find happiness in a different world. A world without a Dark Lord interfering with his life? He looked around the forest at all the other people there. He then noticed it wasn't just the people _**he **_loved there, but also hundreds of others. Witches and Wizards, muggles and creatures were all in the forest watching him. They filled up the forest, the gaps between the trees, and even some of the _**in **_ the trees. These were all the people who died in the fight against Voldemort, and they were there to help him live on.

He had made his decision.

"I accept," Harry said with a firm assurance. James nodded and Lily smiled, then all the ghosts walked in towards him, Lily opened her arms as if to embrace him.

His mother had almost reached him when he heard something break through the deathly silence. A giggle. A child's giggle to be precise. His head spun towards the sound and he saw a flash of golden white. He saw a little girl, no older than four, chasing a rabbit. The rabbit stopped at the base of a tree and the little girl picked it up, softly stroking its fur. Who was she? She was whispering to the rabbit and then laughed again. What a melodious sound, like chimes on the wind. The ghosts were closing in, and they had almost reached him when the girl snapped her head up and looked straight at him.

What she did shocked him to the core, as he was looking into a set of familiar Avada Kadavra green eyes. They looked eerily at him and then its gaze shifted back to the rabbit as it was trying to escape from her grip. It then came to the result where it nipped her finger and jumped away. She pouted as she put her finger in her mouth and then went around the tree and out of site, probably chasing the rabbit.

His attention was shifted when he felt arms around shoulders. "Who was she?" he asked his mother quietly. "She smiled and then whispered in his ear, "Live, Harry." With that there was a blinding light as his friends and family merged together around him in a cocoon of warmth.

The flash ceased and all the ghosts disappeared into the night. The moon shone through the Dark Forest, giving it an ethereal glow. There were two people left in that forest, only two.

"_Where is that rabbit?" _one thought. She bounced her way in between the trees, hopping delicately from one foot to the other. After a while she gave up and went back to the clearing. She saw someone else there and she bounded over towards him like an excited puppy.

"Come on Tom," she said to the other little boy. He was sitting at the base of the tree waiting for her, his dark brown eyes covered by his long bangs. He was dressed in clothes from the 1940's, and she always teased him and said he looked like Oliver Twist.

"The others have left, so let's go." She tugged at his sleeve. The little boy looked at the place where Harry was standing and said the one thing he always wanted to, "I'm sorry, Harry Potter." Both he and the little girl disappeared in a flash of light leaving the forest nightlife to fill up the deathly silence.

**So what did you think? Was it better than the first story? Please review as it took me a lot of time and effort to write this.  
>P.S: the title "Nova Vita" is Latin for 'The New Life.' Most of the chapter titles will be in Latin or Elvish. Hope you liked it and please review PLEASE! Press that tiny little button, you know you want to do it. Come on… There you go, see? That wasn't so hard was it? <strong>

**~Rose**


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